Curley's Wife Character Analysis Essay

Register to read the introduction… This is to highlight that she is seen as a possession of her paranoid and hypocritical husband. When we first meet her in the novel, she seems promiscuous in her attitude towards George and Lennie, who have only just arrived on the ranch. She throws her body forward in an effort to show off the shape of her body and, although pretending not to notice, she bridles when Lennie looks at her. In this first appearance, she is also wearing large quantities of the colour red. “She had full, rouged lips ... Her fingernails were red ... She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which there were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.” Red is a colour to signify many things, things such as passion, warning, red light districts (prostitutes) etc. This scene conveys the sense that Curley’s wife is a woman of dubious morality. However, before we even meet Curley’s wife, we are told by Candy that she is a “tart” and has “got the eye” for everyone, meaning that she is forever flirting with men and flouting her sexuality. In fact, the character of Whit says “I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye.” He does not know this as his speculation is preceded by “I bet,” but he diminishes …show more content…
In this scene, we learn that Curley’s wife is not the person she displays. She is not promiscuous and she does not wish to sleep with other men, she simply wants some company and someone to talk to. When all the other men have gone out to the brothel, Curley’s wife finds Lennie, Candy and Crooks in Crooks’ room. Here, not only do we find out her true intentions, but we see her at her worst. When she enters the room, she observes that “they left all the weak ones here.” This is not just a comment on the three men in the room, but also on herself. She realises that this room contains the four people with the lowest social status on the ranch (and therefore, following the metaphor of the book) society itself. Curley’s hypocrisy at this time crushes his wife’s feeling of self-worth. Whilst he spends most of his time in the book threatening both his wife and those whom she interacts with, he is now setting double standards by going to a brothel. It is as though Curley thinks that he can leave for a brothel, with his wife’s knowledge and sleep with whomever he wishes whilst his wife is required to stay at home and be faithful. Also, when she is confronted by Crooks, she is not only offended by his misconception, but she sees a chance to do something that she is not able to do at any other point in the book, she asserts some authority. The following paragraph contains both a small but important …show more content…
The argument begins when Carlson, in a bad mood after having just lost at horseshoes to the “nigger” stable buck, enters the bunk-house, smells the dog and has a go at Candy. Candy’s retaliation is pathetic which shows that he cannot explain why he wants to keep the dog. Candy does not want the dog shot as hit reminds him of himself. Before his accident, Candy was a good worker, and before it got old and stiff, the dog was a good worker. If Candy were to have the dog shot, it would go some way towards realising his true fear of being cast out of the ranch (once you are no longer useful, what is the use of keeping you). However, the entirely practical and insensitive Carlson cannot see this and pushes forward with his argument. When